UM Land and Mah Sing sweep the 2014 MRPPA property awards

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developers United Malayan Land Bhd (UM Land) and Mah Sing Group Bhd took home five and three awards respectively at The Malaysian Reserve Property Press Awards (MRPPA) 2014 last Friday. The award was held to recognise exemplary players in the Malaysian property industry. UM Land took home awards for Outstanding Township Developer and Smartest Integration of a Modern Industrial Park for the Dover Business Park at Seri Albion development; Most Iconic Rejuvenation Plan for Johor Baru City Centre for the Suasana Iskandar development and, through its subsidiary Dynasty View Sdn Bhd, Most Promising Smart Healthy City and Communities Township for the Seri Austin development. The Property Man of the Year award was also snapped up by the chief executive officer of Dynasty View Wong Kuen Kong. Mah Sing took home awards for Outstanding Developer of the Year, Most Iconic Residential Value Proposition (mixed development) for Southville City, and Most Iconic Residential Development for Lakeville Residence. Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise Bhd won two awards for Most Iconic High-rise Residential Development and Most Iconic Low-rise Residential Development for both Residensi22 and Ophiria Residences@East Ledang, respectively. Also taking home two awards each are Naim Holdings Bhd and Gabungan AQRS Sdn Bhd. The former won Most Prestigious Integrated Commercial Development for Bintulu Paragon and Most Prestigious Integrated Lifestyle Residential Development for Southlake Permyjaya, while the latter won Most Bespoke Heritage Address in Iskandar and Best Family Living Concept for The Peak and the Contours developments. Datuk Seri Dr Vincent Tiew of Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd snapped up the Most Philanthropic Individual of the Year award, while REI Group of Companies was recognised as Most Innovative Marketing Strategist, and Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd for Most Successful Vision City Builder for Cyberjaya. Among the other winners are Ho Chin Soon of Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd for Outstanding Research Contribution to the Country; Dr Daniele Gambero of REI Group of Companies for Outstanding Investment Education for the Public; the Real Estate Housing Developers’ Association for Driving the National Property Market through Malaysian Property Exposition; and the Sabah Housing Real Estate Developers Association for Outstanding Contribution to the Sabah Development Landscape. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar attended the event. This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 5, 2014.

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Amerin Mall expects 2.5 million visitors a year

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital Trend Asia Sdn Bhd (CTA) expects 2.5 million visitors a year to its first retail development, Amerin Mall, in Balakong, Selangor upon completion in 2016.

“[This amounts to] 6,849 visitors a day. We plan to build eight cinema halls, which will attract 50% of this estimation, and the balance visiting our anchor grocer, F&B and retails lots,” said K H Lim, its managing director.

“We will be operating the mall ourselves. However, we are also considering working with a mall operator if we find a good one.”

Besides the mall, CTA is also building Amerin Residences comprising two 19-storey residential towers with 304 units in each tower. The entire development has an estimated gross development value of RM380 million.

 The RM80 million Amerin Mall will have three levels of retail space, a gross built-up of 410,700 sq ft and net lettable area of 155,600 sq ft.

The mall will have a tenant mix of F&B outlets (40%), retail shops (56%) and kiosks (4%). The retail shops have built-ups of between 566 sq ft and 7,037 sq ft.
Lim is looking at rental rates ranging from RM4.50 per sq ft (psf) for the ground floor to RM2.50 psf for the second floor.

Amerin Mall will be competing with two other malls in the vicinity: The Mines Shopping Mall and Aeon Cheras Selatan Store & Shopping Centre.
Among its outlets is the River Promenade, where visitors may dine and relax while enjoying the natural river view.

“[We hope our tenant mix will] ensure the mall is attractive to visitors,” adds Lim.
Other than Amerin Mall, the group is also expecting to run its two upcoming hotels in Jalan Rembia, Kuala Lumpur and Perling, Johor, which will start operations at end-2015 and second quarter of 2016, respectively.

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Sydney by Crown achieves 95% sales at launch

KUALA LUMPUR: Australian property developer Crown Group achieved total sales of A$173.1 million (RM501.6 million) or 95% of its 220-unit Sydney by Crown apartments during its same-day local and overseas sales launch on Nov 22.

The success of the launch reflects the growing demand for high-end properties in Sydney, said Crown Group chief executive officer Iwan Sunito.

This development is the only new apartment building in the central business district to be launched before the end of 2014.

“Many of our buyers were past purchasers of Crown Group apartments,” said Sunito.
Over 500 people turned up at the Sydney by Crown’s display suite at 1 Market Street, Sydney, on the morning of the launch. The Sydney launch was followed by its Singapore and Jakarta launches.

The residential development commands A$250 million in gross development value and covers a gross floor area of 17,446 sq m.

Located at the landmark 161 Clarence Street building, the development features one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as penthouses on the 27th floor.

The apartments are not fully furnished but come with kitchen appliances, as well as built-in wardrobes and bathroom cabinets. The apartments’ interiors are designed by Koichi Takada Architects.

The apartments are priced from A$826,650 for the one-bedroom apartment.
Sydney by Crown will feature resort-style living facilities such as a rooftop terrace with landscaping and oasis water feature, swimming pool, gymnasium and concierge facilities.

The 25-storey building’s design was selected from an international design competition. It features heritage-inspired lower levels that transition to a modern glass-and-steel tower, capped with dozens of steels arches over the tower’s rooftop bar and garden. The lower levels will feature an eight-storey cathedral-like atrium that rises 20m above street level over a new public laneway between Kent and Clarence Streets that is next to the historic Skittle Lane.

The development will be within walking distance to Sydney’s new waterfront precinct at Barangaroo, the new Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wynyard station and Darling Harbour.

Construction will begin in early 2015 and is slated for completion in late 2017.
The group plans to open for sale the Crown Suites in late 2016. It will come fully furnished and offers five-star services. The project is part of a A$1 billion portfolio of luxury suites across Sydney.

The group launched its Skye by Crown in North Sydney last year. Over 100 apartments worth over A$100 million were sold within a week.

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Berkeley Homes introduces Waterfront I

KUALA LUMPUR: UK property developer Berkeley Homes has brought its Waterfront I development in London to Malaysia. Its marketing agent, Knight Frank Malaysia, has been showcasing the development on a private appointment basis starting Monday.

“Royal Arsenal Riverside has a combination of historic and contemporary buildings. The launch of Waterfront I highlights Berkeley’s commitment to bring central London chic to southeast London,” said Lyndon Nunn, sales director of Berkeley Homes.

Waterfront I comprises 91 units of studio and bedroom apartments, as well as penthouses. The built-up ranges between 445 sq ft for studio units and 1,640 sq ft for penthouses. It is expected to be completed by late 2017 with a 999-year lease tenure. It will be situated in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, adjacent to a new community park.

“The new park, which is equivalent to 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools, will provide the local community with a peaceful outdoor space, while bringing Crossrail, Royal Arsenal Riverside and the River Thames closer together,” said Nunn.

The development will benefit from a Crossrail station due to be operational in 2018. Nearby amenities include a pub, cafe, health and well-being centre, an upcoming Sainsbury’s supermarket and easy access to the historic Greenwich town centre.

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Ipoh: The latest property hotspot

Andaman investing RM5mil into landscaping Upper East@Tiger Lane.

IPOH’S trademark taugeh chicken with kuey teow noodles is the city’s well-known street food, and some of its other delicious food include Ipoh sar hor fun, Ipoh salted chicken or yim kok kai (in Cantonese), Ipoh old white coffee, Ipoh hainanese chicken rice and rendang tok.

Despite having a population of more than half a million people, Ipoh still comes across as a small town offering relaxant panoramas, clean and fresh air, mountains where visitors can go for a one-day trekking, pleasant and exclusive environment with plenty of water features and natural lakes.

It is rather interesting to note that Ipoh has been named as one of the nine best places to retire in the world.

It is an affordable place to live for retirees and expatriates since the cost of living is generally lower, and the traffic condition is unlike that in Kuala Lumpur and Penang due to the lack of high-rise buildings in the town centre. 

More importantly, the property prices in Kuala Lumpur and Penang are extremely expensive, whereas property in Ipoh is a fraction of that.

For the past two years, housing and commercial estates have been mushrooming around Ipoh. What is responsible for the growth of this quaint, rustic town’s property market?

 In an interview with Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd’s managing director Datuk Seri Dr Vincent Tiew, he touched on this and other related matters.

“Generally, current perception among most of the non-Perakian is that Ipoh is the best place to retire.

IpohisknownastheCityofMillionaires,oneof the early cities in Malaysia where the population is getting richer.

Many of its people are migrating to cities such as Penang, Johor Baru or Kuala Lumpur to pursue higher education and they would likely remain at their place of studies.

In spite of this, more and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been set up in Ipoh since the last 10 years, leading to a healthy growth of economic development. More businesses, new shopping malls, F&B outlets and hotels are opening up in Ipoh and during Chinese New Year or long holiday breaks, all the hotels would be fully booked. Some people are even starting to look for condominiums with facilities.

Tiew added that people now have more money to invest in property with full condominium facilities where they can spend quality time with family members. Kids wouldn’t get bored and due to the improvement in the standard of living, these families tend to stay back in their hometown for a longer period.

“In terms of property market, Ipoh didn’t experience high growth like Johor Baru or the Klang Valley. For Ipoh, property and land prices started to move and pick up only in the last 12 months.

“More than 24 months ago, the high-rise residential property demand in Ipoh was still weak, but there has been an increase in demand starting 2013. This was due to factors such as the security aspect as it is safer when one stays in a gated and guarded high-rise property.

“Many middle-upper level of high-rise properties have been built from 2010 onwards. They were priced from RM350,000 and above and have been attracting buyers. “From a developer’s point of view, after experiencing five years of solid growth, the Klang Valley property market is slowing down or remaining stagnant. I do not see any substantial growth for the next two years. Property development opportunities is now moving from the Klang Valley to Ipoh.

“Firstly, land prices in Ipoh is relatively cheap now. If one buys a piece of freehold land, it would only cost a fraction of the KL land price. The developer would be able to offer a good product to the buyers.

“For me, the land price in Ipoh is still cheap. Even the Seremban property market is 18 to 24 months ahead of Ipoh. One of the key points of smart investment is just like buying shares where you buy as low a price as possible to get a good profit margin. Coupled with the best location, the Ipoh property market started to climb slowly since 2013.

“The reason why you do not see the property in Ipoh selling as fast as in the other cities in Malayisa is because property developers throughout the country have yet to come to Ipoh to carry out mass development,” said Tiew.

Tiew added that the new property in Ipoh is just enough to cater to the needs of the different levels of buyers, minus the scenario of supply exceeding demand.

“Since the property prices in Ipoh have been increasing at a slow and comfortable rate, investors are still able to enjoy good capital appreciation.

“The presence of retailers is a good indicator of the growth of a town. When there is no demand, retailers would not want to set up business there. There are three Aeon shopping malls in Perak and all of them are in Ipoh. What does that indicate?” said Tiew.

Ipoh has a nice water park and some unique projects, attracting tourists from home and abroad. In the works is an animation theme park in Merujaya, Perak, just 11km away from Ipoh city. Construction work has started and it is scheduled for completion in the next two years.

The animation theme park located along the PLUS highway is a collaborative project with DreamWorks, developedbySandersongroup together with the Perak government. It costs approximately RM450mil and is scheduled for openingin2017.

Animation theme park is envisioned to be
a fun and exciting place where visitors get to immerse themselves in an “animation fun world”.

Ipoh Property Focus on Dec 6, 2014 at Menara Star, PJ.
Join us for a trip to Ipoh to witness the launch of a resort- like development in Tiger Lane, Ipoh on Dec 14, 2014.For more information, log on to www.starproperty.my/ipohfocus/

Celebrities born in Ipoh

Quite a number of our talented artistes and models came from one of the largest cities in the country, Ipoh. You might be familiar with them:

Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, actress

Yeoh studied at London’s Royal Academy of Dance and was crowned Miss Malaysia in 1983. A commercial role with Jackie Chan sparked her film career and Yeoh went on to become one of Hong Kong’s biggest action stars. She’s known to western audiences for her roles in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as well as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.

Michael Wong, artiste
A Malaysian Chinese singer and composer who has sung and written many love-themed ballads and songs. Michael has released five solo albums. He has achieved great success in Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong as well as Malaysia where he is based.

Amber Chia, model
Amber Chia began her modelling career at age 17 in Kuala Lumpur. Chia gained exposure after being a finalist in the 2004 Guess Watches Timeless Beauty Contest. Chia was subsequently voted Model of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2004 and 2005. In February 2014, Chia appeared as guest judge in Episode Five of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 2.

Angie Cheong, actress
Angie Cheong is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian actress. She won the Miss Chinese Malaysia in 1992 and went to Hong Kong to compete for the Miss Chinese International in 1993. Following that, she signed a contract with Hong Kong television station TVB and became an actress.

Eric Moo, singer-composer

Better known as Eric Moo or Wu Qixian, theMalaysian award-winningsinger- songwriter and record producer started his first band, “Subway Band” in high school and began performing on stage in 1983. Subsequently, he launched his singing career in Taiwan. Since then, Moo has released more than 40 albums in Mandarin and Cantonese, and performed in over 40 concerts. 

*Sources: Wikipedia

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Selangor govt to implement rent-and-buy scheme

GOOD news awaits low-cost house owners, who are unable to obtain bank loans, as the Selangor Government is implementing the rent-and-buy housing scheme later this month.

The scheme is being introduced with the aim to ease the burden of those who are unable to obtain housing loans for various reasons including old age.

State Housing, Building Management and Urban Living committee chairman Iskandar Samad said the news was expected to bring cheer to thousands of residents in Selangor.

In the past, he said, many low-cost housebuyers were unable to own houses after their loan applications were rejected by banks.

The scheme which will be launched by Mentri Besar Azmin Ali on Nov 29, would be implemented through the Perumahan Dan Hartanah Selangor Sdn Bhd, said Iskandar.

 He said the company would play a role to purchase the homes from the developers before renting them out to eligible buyers.

‘‘The buyers will be given an option to purchase the homes after renting them for two years with part of their rental used to reduce the cost of the homes,’’ he said

Iskandar said the sale of the houses would be done through the banks.

However, he said, the tenants of the homes would be given the option to continue to stay on rental basis until they were able to obtain loans.

“They also have the option to own the homes once they have paid the cost of the homes through the rental they have paid,’’ he said, adding that the state had allocated RM10mil for the scheme.

Iskandar said the scheme Dana Sel was being implemented as part of the General Election 2013 manifesto of Pakatan Rakyat.

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Sunset serenity

Developer launches latest Seri Kembangan project.

By SHEILA SRI PRIYA 

BANDAR Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB) says its Senja development overlooking the Seri Kembangan lake is perfect for families seeking to upgrade to larger homes.

Senja covers 47 acres and is located in a private enclave within the Bluewater Estate in the fast-growing Seri Kembangan neighbourhood located in the Southern part of Klang Valley.

The residence is connected to several major highways such as the LDP, Kesas, MRR2, North-South Highway, North-South Central Link, Besraya and Silk.

BRDB general manager (development) Alex Lei said, to reach the Senja residence, visitors would have to drive through the Bluewater Estate residential area as well as the Australian International School of Malaysia.

“This may be an added advantage to future residents of Senja because of the extra security checkpoints to pass before reaching the residence.

“The gated-and-guarded residential neighbourhood provides an exclusive and luxurious living space, ideal for families mostly,” he said.

The semi-detached, villa, superlink terrace and bungalow unit in Senja are surrounded by seven pockets of gardens and the greenery adds novelty to the development.

The semi-detached villa and zero-lot bungalows are designed by David Winter of Red Zephyr Studio, the designer of Capsquare at Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur.

The designs of the houses are either classic or modern and were tailored to suit both young and middle-age families.

A view of the living hall area of the show unit for the villa units in the Senja development.

BEP Akitek Sdn Bhd and GSD Architect Sdn Bhd are the architects of this project.

Senja residence is being developed in four phases and will feature 278 residential units once it is completed.

“The first phase consists of 114 houses and is targeted for completion by mid-2016. Senja offers three-storey residences. The size of the terrace houses will start from 301sq m, the semi-detached homes will be over 407sq m and the villas will be over 434sq m,” said Lei.

All units will be equipped with air-conditioning and the kitchens will be fully fitted with cooking appliances.
Lei said the houses can be equipped with lifts if buyers request it.

“The lifts are mostly to cater to families with senior citizens. This facility will cost an additional RM100,000. The lifts will be maintained by the lift providers,” he said.

Lei (left) and BRDB sales and marketing general manager Kim Neoh, showing a scale model of the villa units that will be part of the Senja development.

 Another highlight at Senja will be a 2,322sq m clubhouse located within the development. The clubhouse will feature a tennis court, gym, sauna and children’s playground.

Once ready, the clubhouse will be noticeable from the entrance to Senja and would have a modern facade.
The function hall at the clubhouse also offers diverse opportunities for both casual and formal entertainment.

The hall will also be fitted with a gourmet kitchen with the necessary facilities.

“You could host a private party with your own chef,” said Lei.
There will also be a Business Lounge fully furnished with audio visual equipment.

The semi-detached units are priced between RM2.9mil and RM3.6mil, the villa units between RM3.3mil and RM3.9mil, the superlink terrace units between RM1.9mil and 2.8mil, and the bungalows between RM4.3mil and RM4.8mil.


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